“There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” (Derek Jeter)
Gyachung Kang is a mountain in the Himalayas. It’s a magnificent peak, with precipices far steeper than Everest. The north face was first climbed in 1999 by a Slovene expedition, but is usually called the mountain that no one wants. Why? Because it’s 7.952 mts high, barely 48 mts to 8.000 mts. All the people want to climb an eight-thousander.
Like Gyanchung Kang, LeBron James has never averaged a double-double, but he has been close. For this (and for his “poor” free throw shooting), he has never been a top ten fantasy player in the pre-ranking list of the experts. But this season is different.
In November, LeBron has averaged 29.6 pts, 8.6 reb, 8.5 ast, 58 FG%, and 43 3pts %. Those numbers are the best of his career. The FG% (58.3) and 1.2 blks are a career high. The 28.3 pts are the best in seven years and the 8.7 asts, like last year, the best in his fourteen seasons. Moreover, Thursday night against the Atlanta Hawks, the Cleveland Cavaliers star passed Alex English to move into the top 10 on the all-time field goals made list with 10,660.
Prior to Monday, only four players in NBA history could boast about connecting on 2,100 or more 3pts in their careers. Kyle Korver is now the fifth. He is owned in almost every league across the RCL but only at 28% in Yahoo Leagues. So far, he’s a top-80 fantasy player.
NBA All-Time 3 Pts Leaders
| RANK | PLAYER | 3-PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ray Allen | 2973 |
| 2 | Reggie Miller | 2560 |
| 3 | Jason Terry | 2242 |
| 4 | Paul Pierce | 2143 |
| 5 | Kyle Korver | 2100 |
| 6 | Jamal Crawford | 2072 |
| 7 | Vince Carter | 2055 |
| 8 | Jason Kidd | 1988 |
| 9 | Stephen Curry | 1984 |
| 10 | Joe Johnson | 1940 |
(Source: Basketball-Reference.com)
Friday night, Donovan Mitchell scored 41 points. He’s the first rookie to cross the 40-point plateau since Blake Griffin in 2011. Only six players have done this in the last ten years. Mitchell is a player owned in 100% of Razzball Leagues since the start of the season. There’s a reason, as out of all the fantasy writers, only our experts Son and Craig Bozic recommended him (Predictions). Well-done guys!
Rookies with more than 40 pts since 2007
| PLAYER | SEASON | PTS |
| Kevin Durant | 2007-08 | 42 |
| Eric Gordon | 2008-09 | 41 |
| Brandon Jennings | 2009-10 | 55 |
| Rodrigue Beaubois | 2009-10 | 40 |
| Stephen Curry | 2009-10 | 42 |
| Blake Griffin | 2010-11 | 44 |
| Blake Griffin | 2010-11 | 47 |
| Donovan Mitchell | 2017-18 | 41 |
(Source: Basketball-Reference.com)
I’m astonished having the Team of the Week, but reviewing the team there are three players in the top-10. Victor Oladipo has averaged a stratospheric 27.0 pts, 5.3 reb, 5.3 ast, 3.3 stl, 3.0 blk, and 58.9 FG%. Giannis Antetokounmpo is Giannis and Kyle Lowry put up 5.5 3pts with a perfect 100% from the line.
Here is how the action went down in Week 7 across our 12 RCL Leagues:
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Experts League: Dynasty Deep Dive is the new leader but SON, now third, is only one point behind. Great win by Dream Killers, as he is in second place. Well done Dynasty Deep Dive taking Rondae Hollis-Jefferson off the waiver wire.
Straight Cash Homie: The best record so far, Pikachu continues to dominate with a 7.5 point advantage.
Straight Cash Homie 2: Beamer is the new leader with an 8-1 victory and Cronos Black Metal falls to second place. This week Beamer and Cronos Black Metal will fight for first place.
Straight Cash Homie 3: Onions! crushed his opponent with a 7-1 victory but Vengeful Hoopdies is still at the top, but by only 0.5 points. I must point out two trades and one add. SON acquired Rondae Hollis-Jefferson while Barry McCockinner added Jamal Murray. Interesting, but I like the Hollis-Jefferson side a little bit more. Boogie’s Low Ceiling added Goran Dragic and SON added Trevor Ariza. Well done both. Onions! acquired rookie Jonathan Isaac. With Terrence Ross out indefinitely, Isaac could see plenty of playing time once he is healthy, and could be a top-90 player in the near future.
Straight Cash Homie 4: With a 9-0 victory, Matokie Slaughter is the new leader in spite of Nevitt’s Polyester 7-2 victory.
Straight Cash Homie 5: Hals’s Team remains in the first place. Olympic Team lost for the first time in six weeks and is now in third place. Good transactions: Hals’s Team added Marvin Williams and Team Blitzball added Kelly Olynyk.
Straight Cash Homie 6: The top three is still the same and they all won comfortably: Evil Empire 7-2, My curry too spicy! 6-2 and TonyRP4 7-2. Two interesting adds for SON: Bam Adebayo and Marvin Williams.
RAZZblueBALLS: Mamba remains at the top of the table with the exact same team from the start of the season. Zero moves.
BBQ Mousetrap: Very very close league, as eight teams are within five points. More Sonics Please is now in first place.
Italy vs Razzball: The Wakefield Case dominated with an 8-0 victory. ! remains in first with an easy victory. I like all the acquisitions by Chicaghiamo Addosso: Malcolm Brogdon, and investing in the long run: Jonathan Isaac and Milos Teodosic.
No Punt Intended: What is the Gini Coefficient here? We have the rich, the top six first teams all within three points… and poor, the bottom six more than ten points behind. Good move by Stuck in Saigon 1 adding Kelly Olynyk. Without Whiteside, he can be a top-80 player with solid FG and FT percentage.
Dynasty Deep Dive: Big Baller Brand is still the leader and now TonyRP 5 is second with the same percentage than ELITE. Bareaking Bad with three losses in the last four games fell to sixth place. I’m happy taking Jonas Valanciunas for Jordan Clarkson. In the last two weeks, Valanciunas posted 11.0 pts, 6.6 reb, 0.8 blk and hitting 56.8% from the floor. Again Blake Carrington did well adding Jonathan Isaac.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
| Name: | TonyRP 5 (Dynasty Deep Dive) victory 7-2 and best team with +7 cat win |
| Key players: | V. Oladipo (27 pts / 3.3 stl / 3.0 blk)
G. Antetokounmpo (28.3 pts / 3.7 stl / 9.0 reb) K. Lowry (5.5 3pts / 23.5 pts / 7.0 ast) |
BEST RECORD
| 1 | Pikachu | Straight Cash Homie | 42-19-2 |
| 2 | Beamer | Straight Cash Homie 2 | 41-21-1 |
| 2 | ! | Italy vs Razzball | 41-21-1 |
| 4 | Evil Empire | Straight Cash Homie 6 | 40-21-2 |
| 5 | Big Baller Brand | Dynasty Deep Dive | 40-22-1 |
| 5 | Dynasty Deep Dive | Experts League | 40-22-1 |
| 5 | The Wakefield Case | Italy vs Razzball | 40-22-1 |
| 5 | Vengeful Hoopdies | Straight Cash Homie 3 | 40-22-1 |
| 9 | Dicks Out 4 Harambe | No Punt Intended | 40-23-0 |
| 9 | Dream Killers | Experts League | 40-23-0 |
BEST RECORD LEADERS
| Week 1 | gesiot’s Team | Italy vs Razzball |
| Week 2 | basketballsacks | No Punt Intended |
| Week 3 | GasOl(d) Anthem | RAZZblueBALLS |
| Week 4 | TonyRP 4 | Straight Cash Homie 6 |
| Week 5 | ! | Italy vs Razzball |
| Week 6 | Cronos Black Metal | Straight Cash Homie 2 |
| Week 7 | Pikachu | Straight Cash Homie |
TEAM OF THE WEEK WINNERS
| Week 1 | gesiot’s Team | Italy vs Razzball |
| Week 2 | Slack-Jawed Daps | Straight Cash Homie 2 |
| Week 3 | The Wakefield Case | Italy vs Razzball |
| Week 4 | The Wakefield Case (2) | Italy vs Razzball |
| Week 5 | Newbie | No Punt Intended |
| Week 6 | Evil Empire | Straight Cash Homie 6 |
| Week 7 | TonyRP 5 | Dynasty Deep Dive |
